Television channels are broadcasting an increasing amount of Chinese shows, despite the industry’s overseas earnings falling due to stricter Chinese regulations on foreign programming, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report.
Although the television industry’s gross output increased in the past few years, its exports have been declining since 2014, the agency said.
In 2016, the industry’s exports totaled NT$1.1 billion (US$35.6 million), far below the Executive Yuan’s target, the agency said.
The agency said the decline in exports is primarily due to a significant decrease in sales to China.
The proportion of the industry’s overseas income from China was highest from 2012 to 2015, it said.
In 2014, 58.28 percent of overseas earnings came from China, but the ratio has fallen since then, it said.
In 2016, Malaysia accounted for most exports of Taiwanese programming at 57.1 percent, with China second at 11.71 percent, the report said.
In the past few years, China has tightened restrictions over foreign programming and streaming Web sites, which has directly affected overseas licensing for Taiwanese programming, it said, adding that Chinese limits on foreign programming mean that Taiwanese films are often selected last, after those from Europe, the US, South Korea and Japan.
In contrast, Taiwanese channels are spending more money and dedicating more time to Chinese shows, the report said.
A strategy should be developed to expand to other overseas markets and elevate the development of the domestic television industry, it said.
According to the report, the government is to allocate NT$29.3 billion to cultural spending next year.
Of that, NT$1.494 billion is to be spent on medium-term development of the film, television and music industries, a NT$230 million increase from this year, the report said.
This would involve facilitating the participation of key players at major international events, where they could promote their work, aiding expansion into other overseas markets and raising the nation’s cultural influence, it said.
The Executive Yuan expects the domestic television industry’s gross output to reach NT$135.5 billion and its total exports to reach NT$1.86 billion next year, the report said.
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